Principal's Corner

Hello, and welcome to my webpage. I am very happy to have been granted the opportunity to return to Martins Creek School as Principal. Words cannot express how much I enjoyed the ten years I spent here as a middle school language arts teacher and the year I spent here as Assistant Principal. I have always felt supported and accepted by the Martins Creek Community. Our students are simply wonderful, and the faculty and staff work very hard. Our PTO is dedicated to making great things happen for our students. While I serve as Principal, I am determined to work closely with all stake-holders to increase parent involvement, enrollment, and student achievement in our school. I am genuinely excited about having the renewed opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of young people in my home community. I view school leadership as a service role, meaning I am here to do everything in my power to help students, parents, teachers, and all stake-holders as we learn and grow together. In all decisions that I make, I place my primary focus on the best interests of the students. I see parents and educators as partners, and I believe that good two-way communication is essential. Please don't hesitate to call me or come see me any time you have a question or concern or when you just want to talk.

Here is a little bit about my educational background: After attending Martins Creek School from kindergarten through the 8th grade, I graduated from Murphy High School in 1992 and completed an Associate's Degree at Young Harris College in 1994, graduating second in my class with highest honors. I went on to earn my teaching license and a Bachelor's in literature from UNCA in 1997, graduating suma cum laude as the recipient of the Bryan Award for best senior thesis. I taught 6th grade language arts at Erwin Middle School in Asheville, NC. Following that, I returned to Cherokee County and taught 7th grade language arts at Andrews Middle School for two years before transferring to Martins Creek School where I taught language arts to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for ten years. In my fourth year of teaching, I became Nationally Certified in Young Adult Literature. In 2007, I was accepted into the NC Principal Fellows Program, and I completed a Master's Degree in School Administration and received my NC Administrator's license through Western Carolina University in May of 2009, graduating first in my class as the recipient of the Don Chalker Award for Excellence in School Leadership. I worked one year as the Assistant Principal at Martins Creek during that time. I had the pleasure of serving as the Principal of Ranger Elementary/Middle School for two and a half years and greatly enjoyed my time there. I feel that I learned a great deal about school leadership during that time.

I have many roots in the Martins Creek and Ranger Communities. In the foyer of MCS, you can find a picture that was hung by former Principal Arnold Mathews. The photo is of 3rd and 4th graders at MCS in 1945. My dad is in the second row of that photo. Directly across from that photo is a picture of the 3rd and 4th grade class at MCS in 1983. I am in the front row of that photo, holding the class sign. My brother and sister, and almost all of my cousins, nieces, and nephews on my father's side attended MCS, while most of those on my mother's side attended Ranger School.

Below are some neat links that kids and even adults might enjoy. The username for Tumble Books (the last link below) is "martinscs," and the password is "books." Your child should know his/her password and username for Study Island. Give them a try and tell me what you think: